In Clearfield County there
has been another confirmed case
of Whooping Cough in the
West Branch Area School District.
So far there are two
confirmed cases of Whooping Cough.
We spoke with a doctor today to
learn more about this disease.
As Pennsylvania law for kids
in grades kindergarten through
12 to be vaccinated for
Whooping Cough.
Being vaccinated does not mean
you cannot get the
disease but you're less
likely to have serious
infection.
The Department of Health
notified the West Branch School
District that one student had
Whooping Cough on Sept. 6th.
Wednesday afternoon the
district was notified again of
the second case at the
elementary school.
A doctor Penn Highlands Clearfield
says Whooping Cough is a
bacterial infection that
affects the lungs and airways.
She says it is very contagious
and spread by coughing and
sneezes.
And says a classroom setting is
common for whooping cough
because children share things
like toys and pencils.
When someone was first exposed
to the disease they may not
know it.
"Maybe for the first week or
so, sometimes three weeks you
really don't have the symptoms
yet.
But usually it will start as a
simple runny nose, coughing but
it just gets worse over the
time and instead of improving."
The superintendent of West
Branch says we comply with the
department of health and are
sending home the recommended
communications.
We also use the parent
notification system to disseminate
the information to the families
of all pre k through grade 12
students.
To help prevent the spread of
the disease they recommend keeping
your kids at home if they are sick
cover their mouth if they are
coughing or sneezing and of course
keeping up on vaccinations.